Former Hong Kong captain Anshuman Rath likely to represent Vidarbha in domestic cricket

Anshuman Rath, the former captain of Hong Kong is ready to take up a new challenge in his cricketing career. The Indian born cricketer came into light after scoring a dependable knock of 73 runs in 96 balls against India during Asia Cup 2018. Hong Kong Cricket also confirmed in their official press release that the reason behind not picking him in the squad for the ICC World T20 qualifiers was to help him in pursuing other opportunities in abroad.

Rath was born in Odisha and will turn 22 in November this year. He dreams of playing for India in the upcoming years and has quit Hong Kong cricket for the same reason. He did this to move back to his homeland to enter the country’s state competition and eventually play for the national side.

Anshuman was born in Odisha and has been in talks with Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) vice-president Prashant Vaidya where he will have to prove his mettle like any other cricketer to get a spot in the squad. He is aware of the depth of cricketing talent in India and the competition he would be facing in his quest for a place.

“The door is open, but I have to do whatever I can to put myself up for selection. At the end of the day, if you’re scoring runs, you will be picked. Hopefully, I can do that. They’ve kept me in the loop with everything, and about the club system here. The facilities are top-notch and I’m looking forward to it,” Rath said while speaking to ESPNCricinfo.

VCA also responded to Anshuman Rath’s statement in a positive manner saying, “If he performs well in club and league games he would be picked. However, they clarified that it won’t be easy for the 21-year-old as many local Under-23 and Under-19 players are already knocking the doors of the senior team.”

He is quite a talented batsmen who made his first national appearance at the age of 17. With 18 caps under his name while playing for Hong Kong, Rath has managed to score 824 runs at an average of 51.5 with 1 century and 7 half-centuries in ODIs. He got his first century back in 2017 against PNG in 2015–17 ICC World Cricket League Championship.

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